The bottom line is clear: Our vital interests in Afghanistan are limited and military victory is not the key to achieving them. On the contrary, waging a lengthy counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan may well do more to aid Taliban recruiting than to dismantle the group, help spread conflict further into Pakistan, unify radical groups that might otherwise be quarreling amongst themselves, threaten the long-term health of the U.S. economy, and prevent the U.S. government from turning its full attention to other pressing problems. -- Afghanistan Study Group

PakTribune reports several incidents in Afghanistan which seem not to have been reported elsewhere. These include a claim by the Taliban to have killed 1 police officer and wounded 7 in an attack in Sar-e-Pul province; a government spokesmen says that in fact, 1 civilian was killed and 4 of the attackers injured. Also:

A rocket hit a house in Gereskh district, killing a girl and wounding six others occupants

A civilian was killed in a landmine explosion in Marjah district of Helmand province

A motorcar hit a landmine in Sistani area of Marjah district this morning, leaving a civilian dead, said a press release issued by Helmand governor’s press office.

In another development, it said, a rocket fired by anti-government gunmen struck a house in Haidarabad area of Gereshk district last night, killing a girl and wounding six other members of a family, it said.

Afghan troops don't like the equipment they are given by the U.S., consider U.S. troops to be disrespectful. They prefer the AK-47 to the M-16, which they cannot believe is a modern rifle. It jams all the time. They are otherwise given inferior equipment to what U.S. troops have, for example no night vision goggles and boots that fall apart. More:

[Says Aga,] When foreign forces patrol with Afghan
forces, "they don't respect us. When we see that they don't have respect
we get angry. Even myself, I have seen how they behave in Afghanistan.
They have sometimes been cruel. I saw in operations they have entered
mosques, I have seen this myself."
Another complaint: The foreigners don't let civilians drive in front
of their convoys even if they are rushing a sick person to treatment,
referring to the heavy security measures U.S. troops impose around their
vehicles. . . .

In May last year, a U.S. Army team led
by a behavioral scientist released a 70-page survey that revealed both
Afghan and American soldiers hold disturbingly negative perceptions of
the other.
According to the survey, many Afghan security personnel found U.S.
troops "extremely arrogant, bullying and unwilling to listen to their
advice" and sometimes lacking concern about Afghans' safety in combat.
They accused the Americans of ignoring female privacy and using
denigrating names for Afghans. U.S. troops, in turn, often accused Afghan troops and police of
"pervasive illicit drug use, massive thievery, personal instability,
dishonesty, no integrity," the survey said.

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Nato closes over 200 bases in Afghanistan -- The international military coalition in Afghanistan says it has closed 202 bases as part of its drawdown in troops, and has transferred more than that number to the Afghan government.